After a months-long controversy surrounding the University of Denver’s mascot, the DU Pioneers community has spoken and said it would prefer to have no mascot at all.

The news came as DU’s Mascot Steering Committee announced the findings of its research on Friday and recommended that none of the considered mascots move forward as they are currently designed.

A survey containing three mascot options— an elk, a jackalope and a mountaineer — was sent to DU students and alumni in July, asking them to evaluate the concepts against 20 attributes of the DU community.

More than 8,000 community members participated in the survey, more than three times the expected response. The release by the committee said that nearly 70 percent of respondents were either receptive or neutral to moving forward with a new mascot, but were not aligned on what that mascot should be.

The mountain explorer and elk options performed the best, but neither gained a consensus.

The controversy began in March, when chancellor Robert Coombe announced that Denver Boone, the school’s official mascot until 1998, would not be considered by the committee. In a letter to students and alumni, Coombe said that Boone “did not reflect the growing diversity of the DU community.”

The concepts were created after the committee conducted over 45 focus groups, 15 open forums and a number of one-on-one interviews with alumni, students and faculty. The mascot committee had 76 members — more than the Colorado state Senate, state House or the final Broncos roster.

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